TODAY ON THE BLOG

TELEHEALTH

Too Many Rural Americans Are Living In The Digital Dark. The Problem Demands A New Deal Solution
By Mark E. Dornauer and Robert Bryce

Now is the time for a new federal program that will energize rural broadband in the same way that the New Deal brought electricity to rural America and will bring rural patients out of the digital dark. Read More >>

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

How Much Has The Number of Uninsured Risen Since 2016—And At What Cost To Health And Life?
By Adam Gaffney, David Himmelstein, and Steffie Woolhandler

Declining insurance coverage during the Trump administration has come at a heavy cost in physical and mental health, financial security, and loss of life. If the Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act, 19.9 million individuals could lose health coverage. The life and health ramifications of this case—and of November’s election—are enormous. Read More >>

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

A Business Case For Improving The Well-Being Of Essential Shift Workers
By Megan McHugh, Claude R. Maechling, and Jane L. Holl

Essential workers are more likely to do shift work—outside of traditional daytime work hours. Numerous studies have shown that such work is associated with higher rates of many chronic diseases. Such underlying conditions increase the risk for serious illness from COVID-19. A foundation-funded study estimated the health effects, and excess health care costs incurred per year, for 2,600 workers doing shift work at a manufacturing company. The authors have suggestions for employers relying on shift workers. Read More >>

FOLLOWING THE ACA

Honoring The Ever-Prolific Tim Jost
By Abbe Gluck and Sara Rosenbaum

It is our privilege to introduce this Health Affairs Blog short series celebrating the pioneering work of Timothy Stoltzfus Jost. Perhaps no other legal scholar has touched more areas of the field, or done more to explain the field to generations of lawyers, health policy makers, practitioners, and government officials. Read More >>

LEGAL & REGULATORY ISSUES

Honoring Tim Jost: The Legal Services Years
By James Weill

Tim Jost came to work at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago 45 years ago, in 1975. Much of Tim’s focus was on the Uptown community, at the time a classic example of a predominantly low-income neighborhood feeling the impacts of the great 1960s and 1970s wave of deinstitutionalization. Read More >>

GRANTWATCH MONTHLY ROUND-UP

Connecting The Dots: Improving Child Care Workers’ Conditions Leads To Better Health, Economic Stability, And Greater Equity
By Debbie I. Chang (10/20/20)

Child care workers are a linchpin for broader health and economic security, especially during the pandemic, says the leader of a California foundation. Improving these workers' wages, job quality, and work conditions leads to better health for children and economic stability for the workers and the families they serve. We must invest in child care and child care workers at a level commensurate with the value of improved health outcomes for millions of families and the value of our economic stability and recovery. Read More >>

Misunderstood: How Public Health's Inability To Communicate Keeps Communities Unhealthy
By Brian C. Castrucci, Ruth J. Katz, and Nat Kendall-Taylor (10/8/20)

FrameWorks Institute research finds that other sectors have a largely negative or at best a narrow perception of public health professionals. How can public health help leaders outside the field to appreciate the strategic and collaborative facets of public health? Public health professionals need to improve their communication skills—poor communication has been a longstanding problem—and strengthen cross-sector partnerships. In a pandemic such relationships are critically important. Read More >>

Health Equity And The Future Of Nursing, Post-COVID-19
By Susan B. Hassmiller (9/30/20)

The nursing field must be socially and politically engaged in advocacy efforts to address the health inequities laid bare by COVID-19. This view was clearly conveyed by a panel at a recent National Academy of Medicine (NAM) webinar. Information gleaned there will be included in the second Future of Nursing report, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and to be released by NAM in 2021. Also, one panelist called for a plan to provide mental health support for nurses. Read More>>

IN THE JOURNAL

GRANTWATCH

Funding Children's Health: COVID-19 And Beyond
By Lee L. Prina

The October 2020 GrantWatch column follows the children's health theme of that Health Affairs issue. The column highlights selected foundations' efforts around the country to improve children's health related to the pandemic and more. Subjects covered include food insecurity, mental health, home visiting, emergency child care, COVID-19 in Africa, national paid family leave policy, childhood trauma, and more. In the Key Personnel Change section, read about the temporary move to state government by Sandra Shewry of the California Health Care Foundation. Read More >>

About Health Affairs

Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.

Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.

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